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Thursday, June 28, 2012

According to the Lise Watier press release, the Millésime collection is inspired by vintage wine collections, the art of wine and other liquors. Yes people, a collection inspired by booze, what could possibly be better?

Les Cognacs Eyeshadow QuartetDamage: CAN$36

Lise Watier sez: "Two harmonies of four eyeshadows, that combine the look of both cream and powder textures, offer a silky finish, ultimate shine and durability."Nunu sez: Two limited edition quads which will be coming out with the Millesime collection, Les Cognacs, consisting of brown shades aimed at those with warmer undertones, and Les Vins, consisting of purple shades aimed at those with cooler undertones. The quality of this quad was simply outstanding. There was no chalkiness or fall-out, just smooth buttery goodness. To me, these eyeshadows have a slightly "wet" feel to them. All of the above swatches are just from 1 swipe. I had no problems with the shadows lasting for a whole day.

Duo Shadow & GlitterDamage: CAN$25Lise Watier sez: "Two new shades of this product combine both the iridescence of a pearl cream eyeshadow and the shine of micro-glitters."Nunu sez: Two new shades, Plum Star and Brown Amber will become available with the Millesime collection. Plum Star will join the permanent line whilst Brown Amber is a limited edition. The cream eyeshadow acts as a base for the glitter, how little or how much glitter you apply depends on your own personal preference. Pack it over the entire lid for some Boom Boom Pow or add it just to the lashline for a more wearable look. Lise Watier even designed a special brush with a silicone head for precise glitter application. I don't own that brush so I had to resort to patting it on with my fingers and it did get rather messy. I didn't notice any subsequent glitter fallout other than those from the initial application. The texture of the cream base feels really similar to the MUFE Aqua Cream shadows. It is light, non-greasy and pigmentation can be built up. Unfortunately I am a contact lens wearer who is also prone to rubbing her eyes, and as a result I am not a fan of glitter near the eyes. I will definitely use the cream base part though!
To see these in action visit my Millesime event post.

Rouge Gourmand LipstickDamage: CAN$20 Lise Watier sez: "An ultra-comfortable creamy formula that provides fuller lips is now offered in a new shade of dark red shiraz. Its formula is enriched with Maxi-lip that moisturises and softens lips."Nunu sez: The colour I received was called Shiraz and is a darkened purplish red - a bruised berry if you will. It is definitely not a colour I would've pick for myself for fear of looking like Elvira, Mistress of The Dark, however, Ashley tried it on at the Millesime event and totally rocked it! It is definitely an Autumn colour and can be made more wearable sheered out as a lip stain. Whilst the colour looks frosty in the tube but doesn't apply frosty, on lips it has a slight shimmer. The Rouge Gourmand line of lipsticks all smell like food!! It smells like cake with some kind of fruit. The formula applies very smoothly and didn't dry my lips out. Lasting time was around 4 hours.

Crayon KajalDamage: CAN$16Lise Watier sez: "Specially designed to precisely emphasise the inner line of the lower eyelid for a look that has unparalleled intensity."Nunu sez: I received the shade "Noir Bleu", literally translated as "Black Blue". Imagine a blackcurrant! On me it swatched mostly black with the blue peeking through around the edges. Black based shades tend to undergo a strange phenomenon on my skin whereby they just show up as black. The Other Tine reckons that because I'm so pale, I'm essentially a White Hole from which dark colours cannot escape.
Now that I'm older and have put the goth phase behind me (don't ask), I have strayed away from black eyeliners in favour of navy and plum coloured liners. Their effects are not as harsh as black liners yet they still provide the needed definition. I wore this liner on my water-line for 6+ hours and it did not budge at all. This is quite a feat I assure you.

Lise Watier Millesime products will be available in stores in August 2012.

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Damage: US$16 CAN$21Stila sez:
"The cute, collectible makeup palettes that started a cult following are back and better than ever. Five palettes featuring 5 ultra-wearable eye shadow shades, which can be worn wet or dry, a multi-tasking convertible color for lips and cheeks, plus a mirror and a how-to face chart make these palettes perfect for on-the-go touchups and a must-have for every Stila girl's makeup bag or clutch. At only $16 each, why not collect them all?" Nunu sez:
I've never tried any of Stila's travel palettes before, however, I have a few of their regular eyeshadows and have nary a bad word to say about them, so I was quite looking forward to trying this palette!
Designed as an all-in-one travel friendly palette, it contains 5 eyeshadows and a convertible colour blush which doubles as a lip colour. Much like the Tokidoki Arte palettes, these Travel Palettes were originally intended to be a budget friendly line, however, they have escalated from their original price of US$10 to US$12 last year and now to US$16. To add salt to the wound, us Canadians will have to fork out a whopping CAN$21 for one of these palettes.
The cardboard packaging is sturdy and should have no problem surviving in your cosmetics bag. I am kind of iffy about the fact that they put powder and cream products in the same compartment, my convertible colour has already collected a layer of eyeshadow dust :/.
The colours included in the palette are very safe neutrals which are impossible to screw up. It's pretty easy to go from Grouse Grind to Yaletown with this palette simply by adding some of the darker shades and turning it into a smokey eye.
Good concept, baaaad quality!!
I'm sorry to say it, but the quality of this palette really disappointed me. The quality is nothing like the shadows in their regular line. The texture of these eyeshadows were hard and pigmentation was difficult to build up. The shimmery shades fared slightly better but matte shades were chalky and powdery. It is anything but vibrant. $10? Deal. $16? Okaaayyy, but pushing it. $21? Definitely not! Either up the quality or lower the price.

Swatches from left: Cypress, Seaplane, English Bay, Granville, Coal Harbour, and Tiger Lily Convertible Colour. I had to really dig in to get the colours to show up. The small compartments also meant lots of cross contamination.

FOTD using English Bay all over the lid, Cypress in the crease and outer corners, Coal Harbour as upper and lower liner and Tiger Lily on cheeks and lips.

Other Tine said it basically looks like I'm not wearing any makeup. Perhaps that is the point? That Vancouverites are so laid back that even when they put on makeup it looks like they have nothing on?

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

CND PR recently sent me their Spring/Summer Lookbook along with two polishes for review. I must plead ignorance of the CND brand because it's really not a brand that stares back at me from a shelf when I am perusing nail polish options. In fact, a search of their website yielded no results of retails stores anywhere in my province! Luckily their PR were kind enough to confirm that both Spa Time in Tsawwassen and Pink Lime in Yaletown carry CND products and offer CND and Shellac manicures. They are actually quite well known within the professional circle and do a lot of the nails for the various fashion weeks, but unfortunately aren't really on the average consumer's radar. Easier access in the future please!
I own a few of their Nail Effects polishes and absolutely love them, but this will be the first time I try anything from their colour line.
Both Poppyfield and Electric Orange are part of CND's permanent line and are tres on trend for this Summer's bright pops of colour.

Left: Poppyfield. Right: Electric Orange.

Swatches from top: Poppyfield; and Electric Orange

I LOVE Poppyfield!!! It is such a beautiful bright coral and I foresee it making lots of appearances on my fingers and toes this Summer. It really does look like a field of poppies!! Also *cough* Tangerine Tango *cough*. I am tempted to do a black half moon with it next time so that each finger can look like a poppy petal mwahahah! Electric Orange reminds me of ripe persimmons...ahhh...Summer!

These polishes were 2 coaters for me, you might even be able to get away with a single thicker coat. The formula leans a tad on the thick side but was very easy to apply with no gloopiness. Drying time is pretty fast, and the finish is very glossy - the swatches above are without a topcoat. The brush is a straight wide brush akin to that of OPI and is easy to control. I didn't have any chipping in the 3 days that I wore each colour.

CND polishes go for CAN$6 to CAN$13.50 each.

I actually forgot to check my beloved Nail Polish Canada to see if they carried CND polishes and indeed they do!!! It's not a huge selection but they carry both regular CND polishes as well as their Shellac range. I don't know why I didn't look there in the first place.

Monday, June 25, 2012

18/05/2013 EDIT:The Canadian version of the Miss Candy collection is different to the US version. For swatches of the Color Infallible eyeshadows that were released with the US Miss Candy released in Spring 2013 visit this post HERE.

Yes, it's that time again folks, yet MOAR Color Infallible eyeshadow swatches! I've finally found my DSLR cable so I've reswatched Magnetic Coral, Metallic Lilac and Cosmic Black so you no longer have to look at the horrid cellphone photos from before.
I still don't know if this collection is called Miss Candy or L'Or Electrique. L'Oreal Canada still hasn't updated their website with any information on the new releases. Some countries have released all the shades as one collection and some have released them as two separate collections. The Tines are just as confused as you.
In Canada, the new release consisted of: Magnetic Coral; Pepsy Coral; Innocent Turquoise; Metallic Lilac, Tender Caramel and Sassy Chamallow (a.k.a. Sassy Marshmallow). At the moment, Pepsy Coral is exclusive to Canada and France and Tender Caramel is exclusive to Canada and Italy. An extra colour, Cosmic Black, was released in Hong Kong and France.
To see a list of every Color Infallible ever released, please visit my comparison list.

Tender Caramel is not as golden as Sahara Treasure and not as dark or as brown as Bronzed Taupe. It's as if those two had a love child and the result was Tender Caramel. I also hereby give everyone who pronounces caramel as "KAR-MILL" stank eye.

Sassy Marshmallow is the lightest of the lot, it's what I would call a true silver, in that it is neither too blue or too dark. If you look closely you'll see that Sassy Marshmallow has pink and blue bits mixed in with the base colour, unfortunately those do not show up at all in swatches. I'm uncertain as to why Canada decided to rename it Sassy Chamallow. What is wrong with Marshmallow??! What the heck is a "Chamallow"?! The Tines reckon that a "Chamallow" is some sort of new Pokemon - perhaps a Charmander and Jiggly Puff mix. Metallic Lilac is the darkest of the lot, it reminds me of MAC Smoke & Mirrors and isn't what I would think of as lilac at all.

Swatches from left: Bronzed Goddess; and Cosmic Black

Cosmic Black is essentially Bronzed Goddess but in a black base if that makes any sense. The bronze bits are the same except that Bronzed Goddess is all bronze but Cosmic Black is bronze in black. Yeah, I am truly awful at describing nuances in colour and should really quit trying to be a beauty blogger.

Swatches from left: Magnetic Coral; and Pepsy Coral

The Tines are not quite sure why L'Oreal released two such similar colours. Yes, Magnetic Coral has fuchsia bits mixed in the coral base and Pepsy Coral has golden bits, but swatched it looks EXACTLY THE SAME! If you look at it from a certain angle you can sort of see that Magnetic Coral has wee bit of a purplish sheen and Pepsy Coral is slightly lighter but who is going to look that closely? Buy one or the other.

Swatches from top: Naughty Strawberry; and Innocent Turquoise

Naughty Strawberry is more raspberry than strawberry. It is fuchsia (blargh!! does anyone else struggle to spell that word as much as I do?! I have to spell check it every time I write that word and it's always wrong!) with golden particles mixed in. Innocent turquoise is very light and might be more aptly described as "aqua" by someone with a bigger colour vocabulary. You really have to pack it on for the colour to show but I don't think it'll ever be the same intensity as it is in the pan. I'll be interested in seeing if Endless Sea is more pigmented.
The new generation of Color Infallibles seem to have taken a page out of Armani Eyes to Kill's book, the addition of different coloured particles into the base colour give these new Infallibles a complexity and depth that wasn't seen in previous releases. At around 1/3 of the price of Armani, you can't really go wrong with trying these out.

Monday, June 18, 2012

Stila In The Moment Eyeshadow Palette Spring 2012Price: US$39 and CAN$50 Contains: 10 eyeshadows and 1 Smudge Stick Waterproof Liner.Stila sez: "A stunning collection of Stila's award-winning eye shadows, featuring a mix of pretty purples and ultra-wearable, neutral shades that flatter every skin tone and can be worn wet or dry. The palette also includes an exclusive Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner in Tetra, a deep shimmery purple, plus an eight-page look book with comprehensive application tips and tricks."Nunu sez: A lovely cool tone palette with a good mix of neutrals and colour. I have a soft spot for purple anything so I was most looking forward to the 2 purple shades in the palette.Quality of this palette is vastly different to their travel palettes, most of the shadows in this palette were soft and buttery with awesome pigmentation. The 2 darker shades in the upper row suffered from some chalkiness and would lose most of their sparkly bits upon application. I was a bit disappointed with the dark purple shade, it has an awesome duo-chrome quality in the pan which was completely lost on the eye. The Smudge Liner has great colour payoff and I also liked that it does not require sharpening. It would've been great if they'd included a mirror!

Stila Stay All Day HD Beauty Balm

Price: US$38 and CAN$49

Stila sez: "Luxurious beauty balm glides onto skin and leaves a silky, powdery finish. High-definition formula helps reduce pore size and provides oil and blemish control. Contains innovative micro spheres, which have been shown to hide skin imperfections and reduce wrinkle depth by up to 84%. Features an exclusive complex, which helps reduce redness and skin irritation. Enriched with Tripeptide-37, bamboo and pea extracts, which help diminish the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Infused with natural, skin-protecting emollients which have been shown to increase anti-oxidant activity by up to 89.7%. Uses the smallest particle size of coated pigments for seamless, smooth coverage. Ideal for all skin types and skin tones. Oil-free, paraben-free and dermatologist tested."

Nunu sez: When I swatched this at the Stila event I was pretty excited with its mattifying and smoothing properties, however, I was also unimpressed with its complete lack of coverage. I'm told that it's not meant to provide coverage or replace your foundation, it's more for use as a primer, mixed in with your foundation or alone. So basically, a BB cream it is not. The coverage is so light that unless you have perfect skin, you're going to need something more if you want coverage. However, it works really well as a primer, providing a beautiful smooth matte base for your foundation to go over. I think I understand why SPF wasn't included in this product, SPF tends to create a white cast in photographs and this is a HD product. Great for occasions when you're going to be photographed a lot so I'm saving my sample for my engagement and wedding photos.

Stila Set & Correct Baked Powder Trio

Price: US$34 and CAN$44

Stila sez: "A 3-in-1 baked correcting powder that color-corrects, brightens, evens skintone and sets makeup for a flawless, satin finish. This sheer, buildable powder contains three color-correcting powders, which work in tandem to correct the skin and set foundation. Shades include: Peach - brightens and illuminates; Green - minimizes redness; Lavender - counteracts sallow undertones. A unique baking technique causes the binder to evaporate, which creates a velvety finish and a lightweight feel on the skin. This luxe powder also contains Vitamin E antioxidant protection and jojoba oils to help moisturize and condition the skin. The product is hypo-allergenic and paraben free." Nunu sez: I really love this as a setting powder! I don't understand all the colour theory hocus pocus behind it but it really does make the redness in my skin disappear!! I even dared to venture out of my house with just this powder on my face so that's saying something. It gives a nice matte finish but I still had to blot around the 4-5 hour mark. Do tap your brush of any excess powder before applying it to your face unless you want a large green patch in the middle of your forehead which you'll incidentally only notice on a bathroom break halfway through your day. The grinder shouldn't amuse me but it does. This powder is HUGE, I don't know how one would fit this in their makeup bag. Make it flatter!!!

Stila One Step Illuminate
Price: US$36 and CAN$47
Stila sez: "Instantly illuminates, primes and nourishes the skin. One Step Illuminate improves skintone, evens out your complexion and helps smooth fine lines and wrinkles for complexion perfection! Stila's new One Step Illuminate's oil-free formula melts right into the skin and dries down, creating a gorgeous, illuminating glow. This revolutionary new formula contains three illuminating bronzers: Pale pink - warms the complexion; Champagne - highlights the skin; Kitten - brightens and illuminates. This primer, illuminating, color correcting skincare serum contains Stila's Youth Revival Bio-Available Mineral Complex that instantly: Reduces imperfection; Improves skin texture; Minimizes pores and diminishes the look of fine lines and wrinkles; Hydrates, balances and nourishes the skin; Controls oil production."Nunu sez: This reminded me a lot of the Guerlain Perles Primer. Even the effect it gives is similar, namely, a bit of shimmer and not much else. The texture is a very watery gel that melts into skin easily. It is slightly hydrating and will smooth out very superficial lines but did nothing for my pores. I didn't notice any extra oil control or any visible changes in my skintone. With my oily combination skin, I definitely cannot wear it on its own but mixed in with my foundation or tinted moisturiser or as a primer and I get a nice glow.

Stila All Over Shimmer

Price: US$22 CAN$26

Stila sez: "A creamy, skin-enhancing luminizer that gives the skin a fresh, radiant glow. Soft focus pigments help diminish skin imperfections and minimize the appearance of fine lines and sun spots. This luxurious formula can also be mixed into face lotion or your favorite Stila foundation for a touch of brightened radiance. All Over Shimmer is available in 3 illuminating shades: Pink Shimmer; Bronze; Rose Gold."

Nunu sez: I received the Rose Gold shade and it immediately reminded me of something...*cough* NARS Super Orgasm Illuminator *cough*. It has a hint of pink and leaves my skin with a beautiful I-just-came-back-from-a-tryst-with-a-cabana-boy who looks like Antonio Banderas glow from within. I liked this a lot more than the One Step Illuminator because of the warmth it gave to my pale sallow skin. I use this in a whole myriad of ways - mixed in with my foundation, as a highlighter, under matte blushes when I want a bit of added shimmer and even mixed in with my body lotion for clubbing. Definitely packing this one with me to Hawaii!

Thursday, June 14, 2012

They sez:
"Our Rare Earth masque helps purify and detoxify skin while minimizing the appearance of enlarged pores. Formulated with Amazonian White Clay to gently draw out oil, dirt and toxins that can clog pores. The addition of Oatmeal and Aloe Vera will help soothe, hydrate and protect sensitive skin."Nunu sez:
Once a month my face degrades into a hot oily mess full of swollen pores and spots, and whilst sheet masks are awesome at keeping skin hydrated, sometimes I just need something to drain all the oil and calm down any inflammation. This masque is simply fab at doing just that!
I use this as both an all over mask and as a spot treatment by dabbing it on an active breakout and leaving it on overnight. My skin is noticeably softer and brighter after use, and any swelling and redness I have from active breakouts are down significantly by morning.
Be forewarned that this masque is definitely not for everyone! It BURRNNNSSS for the first few seconds after application so I don't recommend it for people with dry sensitive skin. At the very most use it once a week as an all over mask. As an overnight spot treatment you should be fine using consecutively for a few days. I apply this masque to clean skin after a shower, it dries in about 5 minutes but I try to leave it on for a bit longer before washing it off.
Don't expect it to minimise your pores, pore size is determined by your genetics, skin type and age, and nothing short of Photoshop or Shrink-Ray will be able to do anything about it.
You can buy your own jar here for $26.
Some action shots.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

When the other half of the Travelling 'tines came back from her Asia travels, she smuggled with her person a bustling cache of smuggled goods for this tine. Yes, I'm "this tine" and she's "that tine". Sometimes we switch it around and she's "this tine" and I'm "that tine". Baanaanaa and Potayto.
Anyway! Inside the beautiful tin with the morbid name lies a rather alarmingly red gel blush. The texture is not unlike C.O. Bigalow's Rose Salve, maybe just a smidge harder. Whilst it looks rather intimidating in the pot, on skin diffuses into a sheer natural flush.
Having barely mastered cream blushes, I knew I was tempting fate with a gel tint. Applying with fingers made a big mess of my foundation, so in the end I used my Sonia Kashuk flat top brush which always makes short work of applying and blending cream type products. The result is a very natural, I-just-came-in-from-a-romp-in-the-cold flush.
The finish is non-sticky but doesn't ever really dry down completely so setting with a powder is imperative. I actually quite like layering this under my No. 13 Laduree Cameo Blush.
My only quibbles with the product is that: a. I'm not really fond of the balmy finish; and b. lasting time is like 3-4 hours max.
Verdict: A nice little multi-tasker but not really for girls with oily skin or for those who want long-lasting wear.

On me, it swatched more raspberry than red.

FOTD with Blood On on cheeks and lips. Sorry I am going through a bit of a spotty phase right now.

Monday, June 11, 2012

Last week was a bit of an oddball week for me, if I wasn't attending a PR event I was attending a personal social event. Usually I go home immediately after work to hold whichever one of their paws that my cats allow me the honour of holding while they sleep. If they're feeling particularly generous, they'll even condone to eat a few treats out of my hands!

Lise Watier kindly invited me to a fun night of vino and makeup in celebration of their 40th (!!) anniversary. In addition, they also took the opportunity to showcase their Autumn/Fall 2012 colour cosmetics collection.

Yah, you heard me, AUTUMN!! Dude it's only June...and the temperatures haven't even hit the 20s yet...please don't suggest that Autumn is coming soon... Unfortunately the weather that day only seemed to exacerbate my fears - twas yet another gloomy and rainy day in Vancouver. Ah well, if the catwalk trends are anything to go by, at least this Autumn will feature my favourite colour, so that's something to look forward to. Not that I ever look forward to Winter.

Allons-y!

The event was held at Uva - a trendy little wine bar in downtown Vancouver. Uva means grape in Italian.

Rachel, Lise Watier's PR specialist est trèsfrançais and has legs as long as I am tall. Herve Leger obviously had her in mind when he designed those bandage dresses.

Lise Watier's Millesime collection is inspired by wine!

Yessss!!! Purples are in!!!!

I LOVE the makeup in this photo, I'll definitely have to copy it!

Bling fans will be happy to know that there will be 2 new additions to Lise Watier's Duo Shadow & Glitter range! Plum Star will join the permanent line and Brown Amber will be limited edition.

Alison and I were both excited about the addition of creme blushes to the line.

About Me

Nunu is teapot shaped with orangutan arms and a slightly lazy eye.
She lives in Vancouver, Canada.
She likes poop coloured things and cats.
She owns more nail polish than a nail salon and enjoys referring to herself in the third person.